Engro's NPK fertilizer plant has commenced production
at Port Qasim, near Karachi. The plant has been built at an estimated
cost of Rs 539 million and completed in a record time of 13 months. It
has a designed capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes of granulated NPK per
annum. The project is based on a basic design provided by the
International Fertilizer Development Centre and all the financing has
been arranged locally. Availability of locally produced NPK is expected
to result in saving of foreign exchange, currently being spent on its
import.

Engro Chemical Pakistan has the distinction of being
the first ever chemical fertilizer plant in Pakistan. At present, it
enjoys a large share of urea market and also sells imported DAP
fertilizer. Commencement of NPK type fertilizer has expanded its product
range. The company has also established two fully owned subsidiaries,
one operating a jetty and bulk liquid storage facility and the other
producing PVC resin. Engro has also started marketing of certified seeds
in the country.

With limited land and water resources there is a dire
need to improve agriculture production to improve socio-economic
condition of the large segment of the population, directly or indirectly
connected with this trade. This has assumed even greater importance in
the light of present situation of declining water availability.

It has been observed that there is a wide gap between
the yield of an average farmer and that of a progressive farmer within
the available crop varieties and farming technologies. The gap is
because a progressive farmer uses the right mix of nutrients, use
appropriate agronomic practices, which the average farmer does not.

One of the prime reasons for lower agriculture
production in the country is the unbalanced usage of Nitrogen (N),
Phosphatic (P) and Potassic (K) fertilizers. Engro's NPK is a mixture of
all these three nutrients required by different crops. Salient features
and benefits of NPK are: used worldwide, ensure supply of all the three
ingredients in a balanced ratio, ensure correct application in
appropriate dose for each crop, enhance fertilizer use efficiency and
minimize nutrient losses. The different NPK grades are crop specific and
increase income of farmers.

Based on different grades, NPK is available in
specific bags for rice, cotton, wheat, potatoes, maize, sugarcane,
chilies, vegetables, mangos, banana and citrus fruits. The company also
plans to produce specific grades for tobacco and other crops. The design
of the plant has provision to produce different grades according to the
requirement of the farmers.

The company produced 36,000 tonnes of NPK and sold
32,000 tonnes. The company managed to get 72 per cent capacity
utilization of the NPK plant. Improvement in the plant operations were
achieved but the NPK business suffered a loss of Rs 47 million during
the six months period. During this period sale of DAP was 65,000 tonnes,
a market share of 26 per cent.

NPK fertilizer are an all-in-one source of plant
nutrients for the individual crops and soils. The farmers will be able
to conveniently procure all the major nutrients in the same bag. The use
of NPK will provide balanced nutrition and enhance soil fertility,
maximize crop yield and ultimately will boost the agricultural economy.

This plant was recently inaugurated by two federal
ministers, Abdul Razzak Dawood and Khair Mohammed Junejo. The presence
of two ministers indicate the commitment of government to improving the
performance of agriculture sector for achieving higher GDP growth rate,
self sufficiency in food and higher production of different crops. Both
the ministers applauded the role being played by Engro in the economy of
the country.